LSU alumnus Keith Comeaux will deliver the commencement address on Friday, Aug. 8 during LSU's 284th commencement exercises, which begin at 9 a.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, the university announced through a news release Friday morning.

Comeaux is the deputy integration & test manager for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory SMAP mission, which will study the Earth's soil moisture climate and is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg AFB this fall.

Comeaux joined NASA's JPL in 2006 to lead Curiosity's entry, descent and landing validation effort.

Comeaux also served as the cruise engineering operations team chief during the Curiosity

"In this role, he led the engineering team responsible for operating Curiosity during its eight-and-a-half month cruise and approach to Mars, culminating with its landing on the night of Aug. 5, 2012, with Comeaux serving as flight director," a university news release said. "After landing, he was one of several tactical mission managers responsible for the initial commissioning and operation of Curiosity as it began its journey of discovery on the Martian surface."

Before NASA, Comeaux worked for Boeing's Satellite Development Center for 11 years.

Comeaux graduated from LSU in mechanical engineering and physics and earned his master's and Ph.D. degrees in aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University, where his research focused on hypersonic aerothermodynamics and computational fluid dynamics. He also completed his MBA at UCLA.